Global sourcing is an effective way to reduce supply costs, but unanticipated expenses—particularly related to imports—can sink the ship. The discrepancy between forecast and actual total landed cost of goods—including product cost and transportation, duties, and taxes—can vary from 2 percent to 10 percent, according to a recent Aberdeen Group study of 400 companies that import from China. That disparity jumps to more than 10 percent for one in five respondents.